John Makdessi plans to be “more aggressive and throw more volume” at UFC 293 to get KO win over Jamie Mullarkey

John Makdessi will be ending his year-long layoff at UFC 293.

Makdessi hasn’t fought since the UFC’s first stop in Paris in September of last year when he dropped a decision to Nasrat Haqparast. It was disappointing result for Makdessi and since then, he dealt with a hand injury that kept him out of the Octagon for over a year.

“This sport is very unpredictable. I’ve had a lot of surgeries throughout the last couple of years, I’ve had two hand surgeries. I had a complex fracture on my index finger in my last fight, so that took time to heal,” Makdessi said on Just Scrap Radio on BJPENN.com.

Once Makdessi was able to return, he was booked at UFC 293 which will be his 20th UFC appearance. Fighting 20 times in the UFC is special for Makdessi who knows lasting this long in the sport is not easy.

“Every time for me it’s weird, I have to pinch myself. It’s crazy that I have lasted this long in the sport with all the injuries and it’s very hard for all the stars to align,” Makdessi said.

When John Makdessi does make the walk to the Octagon at UFC 293, standing across from him is Jamie Mullarkey, who the Canadian admitted he wasn’t familiar with.

But, after studying Mullarkey, Makdessi got excited about the fight as he says he believes it will be a fan-friendly matchup.

“I’ve never watched one of his fights until they announced it,” Makdessi said. “The lightweight division is crazy, I’ve been in the UFC since 2010, and there are so many fighters that I can’t keep track… I mean, when I fought Nasrat I thought he would stand in the pocket and would trade with me. It’s hard to tell, it’s a very unpredictable sport, he may want to keep the range, it’s a good fan-friendly fight for us.”

Since being off for a year, John Makdessi says he has changed his style. According to the Canadian, he says he is a more aggressive striker and will be looking for the knockout against Jamie Mullarkey.

“With my experience, it’s all about making adjustments, it all depends. I’m training for a knockout, I want to go out there and give 100 percent, I’m going to redline it,” Makdessi said. “In the past, everyone knows me as a counter striker, I start slow, I pace myself and I tried and pick my opponent apart as I focused on accuracy and timing. The judges don’t appreciate defense. I pushed myself to be more aggressive and throw more volume.”

Should Makdessi get the KO win at UFC 293, he hopes to have his next fight in Canada, as it’s reported the UFC will head to Canada in the first quarter of 2024.